Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Holy City of Touba to St. Louis bus ride

I'm jumping all over the place here, but for some reason pics are not uploading again so I am going to write about the bus ride to St. Louis. I will write about the holy city of Touba soon. For now, if you are student, please do some internet reading about the Sufi Muslim Brotherhood called the Mourides---especially their founder, Cheikh Amadou Bamba.

After a dusty, hot tour of Touba, we have a long bus ride to our hotel in St. Louis. Around 3pm, we stop in a dusty town where the seminar leader has mentioned there is a great handcrafted show market. The bus unloads....this trip often has an unintended shopping focus--not my thing so much but.....
There is also a semblance of a bathroom which may terrify you should I go into detail. I overhear the snippets of 1st world complaining from various individuals and I silently sympathize---but this is why we are here. Bathroom culture is just that: culture. Those of us not shopping get surrounded by small boys begging for coins---Talibes---kids(boys only) entered into Muslim schools where part of their curriculum is to experience humility through begging. They are persistent, aggressive, and everywhere. A bus of Americans draws them like a beacon. A couple of women in our group feel quite threatened at one point when one of them makes a throat slitting motion after one refuses to hand him their fit-bit.
We are here for over an hour---with 2/3 of the group buying what the consensus is, very high quality handmade shoes. As the afternoon is getting long, we get back on the crowded two lane road. We ride into the dark for 3-4 more hours. We are supposed to be in St. Louis by 5pm but instead arrive at our "resort" after 9pm. The pace is wearing thin on many of us but the excuse is that the funding for this requires excessive time in  organized class/seminar work.

Sunrise, Fisherman's quarter, St. Louis, Senegal

We leave here in the morning on Tuesday 1/15. Everyone is up and at it by 6:30am. Everywhere people are cooking tea on outdoor grill contraptions---the tea is Ataya, a sweet, strong, delicious pick-me-up. Kids are on the street already going to school--buying little snacks from street vendors. We drive by a couple of goats doing a head-butt dance in a leisurely fashion.


 

St. Louis French Quarter "skyline"


 

St. Louis Fisherman

I've posted many photos of boats while in Senegal. Fishing is a huge part of the culture in the Northern Senegalese city of St. Louis. Fish is "Jen" in Woloff, the most common tribal language here----and many Senegalese subscribe to the idea that "fish is life". The area itself is experiencing declining fish stocks due to pollution. you will notice photos with plastic trash in them---I do not focus on this but the scale of plastic trash is beyond comprehension. There are groups beginning to work on this----such as the organization led by our hotel owner(a Signare....more on this later).

Anyway, to be a fisherman in St. Louis it is said you must be born into the profession. They are reasonably wealthy by Senegalese standards. Most have 3-4 wives, each ideally with 4-5 children. They leave in their boats---huge wooden behemouths(apparently they used to be rowed!) with large outboards, early in the morning around 3-4am. They take all day to reach their "spot", fish all night, and return the following morning.
Wives sometimes get their own home, but it is more common for them to live together in  a multi-roomed compound. It is common for a new bride to ask for her own huge television set and their are a multitude of satellite dishes. Fishermen and their families live in a raucous, teeming town across a bridge from the old French quarter. It is dusty, garish, noisy, and the stench of fish is overwhelming. the whole place revolves around fish. Hundreds of trucks arrive every day, pack tons of catch in shaved ice, and is promptly delivered all over the country. The streets are filled with dudes carrying trays of ice or trays of fish. The odor of exhaust is ubiquitous. Mixed with the fish smell this can be quite a funky perfume.
Everyone eats fish here---the whole country it seems. All the time. In the states if you eat in a West African restaurant, order 'Thieboujenne" and you'll get the idea. Bones are part of the deal. The Senegalese I know crave it, yet it is eaten daily.

The boats themselves cost on average about 10 million Central African francs. One dollar is about 570 CFAs. Do the math. Incidentally, people tell me goats here are worth about 65,000 CFAs.

Some of my photos show swamped boats and one is perplexed as to why they are there. This is done intentionally every few years for some reason to treat the wood and then they are repainted. Photos to follow.

Soccer/Football


This scene plays out all over Senegal in the evenings

Dakar skyline



 

Speaking of my Puerto Rican colleague's interest in Afro-Latin music----you should all check out this band----Orchestra Baobab. Keep in mind this is an African band. The tunes are simply awesome.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08S9UYUXZYA

You should also of course check out Youssou N'Dour, Senegal's musical treasure. If you like it perhaps go a bit deeper and discover this musical style called Mbalax. Clubs start playing it in deafening volumes around 2am in Dakar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzzj07C0Nes

Senegal Seminar

Hello,
As my prose here has been quite brief and intermittent I am going to discuss briefly what I am doing here in Senegal West Africa. This is a seminar for faculty of community colleges and Historic Black Colleges and Universities. We are studying Diversity, Religion, and Migration in West Africa. I am with 20 or so other professors from Howard, Spelman, Morehouse, Xavier, University of Puerto Rico---and I am representing NOVA. The intent is to increase the study of Africa in all disciplines---for example, my colleague from Puerto Rico is a Cornell PHD in Mathematics who is interested in the merging of African and Latin Music. I am here to continue to try to improve my ability to incorporate culture and cultural literacy in my business courses. Essentially you cannot establish a business relationship with anyone unless you know who they are. Thus I am in Africa again. For those of you interested, you can read my first impressions of Senegal in June/July 2016 when I studied here on a Fulbright-Hays grant. Why am I back? Culture is infinitely deep and one can always learn more---especially the second time. It is why I continue to visit Russia and will continue to do so here.
Anyway, let me show you our itinerary for the 2-3 weeks I am away. There is hardly enough time to breathe---let alone blog. Incidentally, what looks like free time on here is generally eaten up by lectures going over time and travel times are extraordinarily optimistic. We are sometimes traveling for 10-12 hours.
Community College Faculty

Professional development seminar
January 6 – 23, 2019

Tentative Daily Itinerary


Jan 6, US  DEPARTURES
Dakar  to  US

 

Jan 7, DAY 1-       Travel Day
US to Dakar

6:00am                     Arrivals

Check-in, breakfast, rest and recuperation

1pm                           Lunch

8:20pm                 Arrivals

9:00pm                 Dinner at hotel

Jan 8, DAY 2 at Hotel
Dakar

7:00am                     Breakfast

9:30-10:30am        Overview of Seminar: Discussion on the overall plan , expectations &  possible outcomes for the seminar

10:30am                   Orientation (health & safety) at hotel

11:00am                   Break (exchange  $ at hotel)

11:15-12:45pm      Lecture 1: Senegal and West Africa: A Brief History

1:00pm-2:30pm:    Lunch

3:00-6:00pm:       Guided tour of Dakar by bus including the Millennium Statue, the Renaissance Monument, the presidential palace, the East Corniche, the train station, the Independence Square, etc.

7:00pm                     Dinner at hotel

 

Jan 9, DAY 3 at WARC
Dakar

7:00 am                    Breakfast

8:15 am                    Depart Hotel for WARC

9:00am-10:30am Lecture 2: Contemporary Senegal: Politics, Culture and other issues/ An overview 

10:30am-10:45am Break

10:45-12:15pm      Lecture 3: Tradidtional, Religious and Modern Education Systems and Practices in West Africa and Senegal (including university system)

1:00pm-2:30pm:    Lunch

3:00pm-5:00pm    Panel Discussion with faculty from University Cheikh Anta Diop

7:00pm                     Dinner


Jan 10, DAY 4 on Goree Island
Gorée Island

7:30am                 Breakfast at hotel

9:15am:                 Depart from hotel to pier

10:00am-6:00pm: Travel by ferryboat to Gorée Island (a 20-minute crossing from Dakar; www.mariedegoree.org) to visit erstwhile Maison des Esclaves (House of Slaves), Goree Institute, tours of the island and shopping.

Evening:               On your own. Will look out for cylutral events

Jan 11, DAY 5 at WARC
Dakar

7:30am                      Breakfast

8:15 am                    Depart Hotel for WARC

9:00am-10:30am: Lecture 4: Gender issues in Senegal and West Africa

10:30-10:45am:     Break

10:45-12:15 pm:   Lecture 5: Migration: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives and Issues

12:15-1:45 pm:      Lunch

2:00-4:30pm        Film Screening and Discussion: La Piroque (Moussa Toure, Senegal)

5:00-5:30                General group discussion/feedback/adjustments

Evening                    Free on your own

 

Jan 12, DAY 6 at WARC
Dakar

7:30am                      Breakfast

8:15 am                    Depart Hotel for WARC

9:00-10:30am:       Lecture 6: Youth, Popular Culture and Politics

10:30-10:45am:     Break

10:45-12:15 pm:   Panel Discussion: With Hip Hop Artists and Musicians

12:30-2:00 pm:      Lunch

2:00-3:30pm        Lecture 7: Role & place of St-Louis in the colonial history and in the dissemination of Islam in Senegal

Afternoon/Evening            Free on your own: Work on individual projects

 

Jan 13, DAY 7 TRAVEL DAY
Touba and Saint Louis

6:30am                      Breakfast at Hotel

7:30am                 Depart for St-Louis via Touba

12:00pm               Arrival in Touba – Visit mosque & library

1:00pm                 Lunch in Touba & drive to St-Louis

5:00pm                 Arrival & settle at hotel

8:00pm                 Dinner and Cultural Performance at Hotel

 

Jan 14, DAY 8 SAINT LOUIS
 Saint Louis

8:30am                      Breakfast at Hotel

9:30am                     Poolside Chat with Madame Ariane Reaux on the Signares and other cultural particulars of Saint Louis

11:00-1:00pm      Guided Tour of Saint Louis on caleche (horse drawn carriage)

Afternoon                Free on your own

8:00pm                     Dinner at the Hotel

 

Jan 15, DAY 9 TRAVEL DAY
Toubacouta

6:30am:                    Breakfast                   

7:30am                 Departure for and travel to Toubacouta via Sokone

1:00pm:                Lunch and Cultural Performance in Sokone

4:00pm:                Arrive Toubacouta and Check-in at Hôtel Keur Saloum: www.keursaloum.com/

5:00pm:                    Visit Women NGO “Nos Soeurs Lisent”

7:30pm:                Dinner at hotel

 

Jan 16, DAY 10  at Toubacouta
Toubacouta

7:30am:                    Breakfast at hotel

9:30-11:00am:       Lecture 8: Senegalese literature (onsite)

11:00am-1:30pm:  Tour of mangroves via pirogues (small fishing boats)

Visit Sippo Island and its primary school

2:00-3:00pm           Lunch at Hotel           

3:30-5:00pm           Leisurely drive to the border with The Gambia      

7:00pm:                Dinner at hotel

9:00pm onwards:  Attend traditional wrestling match

 

Jan 17, DAY 11  TRAVEL DAY
Dakar

7:00am                  Breakfast      

8:00am                 Depart for Dakar

 
 

Jan 18, DAY 12 at WARC
Dakar

7:00am:                    Breakfast at hotel

9:00am                     Depart Hotel for WARC

9:30-10:45am:       Lecture 9: Islam in Senegal Senegalese Literature and Film

10:45-11:00am:     Break

11:15-12:15pm:   Film Screening and Discussion: La Peteite Vendeuse du Soleil (Djibril Diop Mambety, Senegal)

12:30                         Lunch

Afternoon/Evening   Free on your own to work on your project

 

Jan 19, DAY 13 at Hotel
Dakar   

7:00am                      Breakfast

10am-12:00pm      Presentation and group discussion on curriculum projects and wrap-up

Rest of the day        Free

7:00pm:                    Farewell Dinner

Jan 20, DAY 14   Free Day
 

 

Jan 21, DAY 15  Free Day
 

 

Jan 22, DAY 16   Free Day/evening travel to airport
 

 

Jan 23, early morning DEPARTURES
Dakar  to  US

 


 

Goree Island



Students: Look up Goree Island, Senegal.
 

Billboard, Dakar



 

Sunset, Dakar



 

Dakar, Senegal, Children.